Tonight marks not only the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, Shabbat, but also the beginning of the two High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah, the "head" of the year. Rosh Hashanah is a joyful holiday. Not like the turning of the secular year, where most of us party away the night (and sometimes much of the next day as well), but in the sense of feeling gratitude for having lived to see yet another year begin.
But it's also a very reflective holiday. Rosh Hashanah begins the ten-day penitential period that leads up to the holiest, most solemn day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
On Rosh Hashanah our merits are considered and our fate is decided, but until Yom Kippur we may succeessfully appeal the verdict through repentance, prayer and charity. Last year, due to the fluctuations of the Jewish lunar calendar, Rosh Hashanah fell a week after September 11th. This year, it falls a few days before. For me, anyway, it was a real blessing to have those two days of holy convocation at a time when so many of us were just catching our breath, just beginning to dare to try to breathe normally again, trying to make sense of it all, looking for an excuse, almost any excuse, to be with other people, to celebrate the joy of being alive and to mourn those who were lost.
This year, we'll be looking forward to the anniversary, trying to figure out the best way to commemorate the event. And we'll also be reflecting on the many other horrors and tragedies as well as the victories and triumphs that the past year has brought. We in America will be thinking about how we've grown as a nation and about how our brothers and sisters in Israel have as well. And we'll be praying that the coming year will be a year of health and happiness, peace and prosperity for the people of all nations.
Shabbat Shalom
Shanah Tovah
